Digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and nitrogen balance with various feeding levels of oil palm fronds treated with Lentinus sajor-caju in goats

Modulation of rumen bacterial community and feed utilization in camel and sheep using combined supplementation of live yeast and microalgae

The combination of live yeast and microalgae as feed supplementation could improve rumen fermentation and animal productivity. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a mixture of (YA) yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and microalgae (Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris) as feed supplementation on feed intake, rumen disappearance of barley straw, bacteria, and fermentation, blood parameters of camels and sheep. Three fistulated camels and three fistulated rams were fed a concentrates mixture and ad libitum barley straw as a basal diet alone or supplemented with YA mixture. The dietary supplementation improved the feed intake, rumen disappearance of barley straw nutrients, and the blood immunity parameters. The YA supplementation affected rumen fermentation as well as the composition and diversity of rumen bacteria; however, the response to the supplementation varied according to animal species. Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) separated bacterial communities based on animal species and feeding treatment. Phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominated the bacterial community; and the dominant genera were Prevotella, RC9_gut_group, Butyrivibrio, Ruminococcus, Saccharofermentans, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, and Succiniclasticum. Our results suggest positive impacts of YA supplementation in rumen fermentation and animal performance.

Effect of barley straw and Egyptian clover hay on the rumen fermentation and structure and fibrolytic activities of rumen bacteria in dromedary camel

Background and Aim

Understanding the regulations of rumen microbiota and their fibrolytic capabilities under different forages are essential to improve rumen fermentation and animal feed efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the rumen fermentation and the structure and fibrolytic activities of rumen bacteria in camels fed barley straw and Egyptian clover hay.

Materials and Methods

Three fistulated camels were fed a diet containing barley straw for 30 days; then transitioned to a diet containing Egyptian clover hay for 30 days. In addition, bacterial media enriched with xylan and different cellulose sources, namely, filter paper, wheat straw, and alfalfa hay, were used to evaluate the ability of camel rumen bacteria to produce xylanase and cellulase enzymes.

Results

The camel group fed Egyptian clover hay showed higher crude protein intake, rumen ammonia, total volatile fatty acids, and acetic acid. Moreover, the camel group fed barley straw showed higher neutral detergent fiber intake, rumen pH, and propionic and butyric acids. Principal component analysis showed that bacterial communities were separated based on the forage type. Forage type affected the composition of rumen bacteria and most of the bacterial community was assigned to phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Egyptian clover hay diet increased the proportions of genus Prevotella and Ruminococcus; while fed barley straw diet increased the Butyrivibrio, RC9_gut_group, and Fibrobacteres. The bacterial culture of the Egyptian clover hay fed group produced the greatest xylanase and the bacterial culture of the barley straw fed group produced the maximum cellulase.

Conclusion

Egyptian clover hay is recommended to feed camels in intensive production. Moreover, the bacterial community in the camel rumen is a promising source of lignocellulolytic enzymes.

Rumen bacterial community profile and fermentation in Barki sheep fed olive cake and date palm byproducts

Rumen bacteria make the greatest contribution to rumen fermentation that enables the host animal to utilize the ingested feeds. Agro-industrial byproducts (AIP) such as olive cake (OC) and date palm byproducts (discarded dates (DD), and date palm fronds (DPF)) represent a practical solution to the deficiency in common feed resources. In this study, thirty-six growing Barki lambs were divided into three groups to evaluate the effect of untraditional diets including the AIP on the growth performance. Subsequently, nine adult Barki rams were used to evaluate the effect of experimental diets on rumen fermentation and rumen bacteria. Three rations were used: common concentrate mixture (S1), common untraditional concentrate mixture including OC and DD (S2), and the same concentrate mixture in S2 supplemented with roughage as DPF enriched with 15% molasses (S3). The animals in S2 group showed higher dry matter intake (DMI) and lower relative growth rate (RGR) as compared to the animals in S1 group. However, the animals in S3 group were the lowest in DMI but achieved RGR by about 87.6% of that in the S1 group. Rumen pH, acetic and butyric acids were more prevalent in animals of S3 group and rumen ammonia (NH3-N), total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), propionic acid were higher in S1. Rumen enzymes activities were higher in S1 group followed by S3 and S2. The bacterial population was more prevalent in S1 and microbial diversity was higher in the S3 group. Principal coordinate analysis revealed clusters associated with diet type and the relative abundance of bacteria varied between sheep groups. The bacterial community was dominated by phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; whereas, Prevotella, Ruminococcus, and Butyrivibrio were the dominant genera. Results indicate that diet S3 supplemented by OC, DD, and DPF could replace the conventional feed mixture.

The Effects of Oil Palm Fronds Silage Supplemented with Urea-Calcium Hydroxide on Rumen Fermentation and Nutrient Digestibility of Thai Native-Anglo Nubian Goats

This study aimed to examine the combined effects of urea and calcium hydroxide ensiled oil palm fronds on rumen fermentation and digestibility of Thai native-Anglo Nubian goats. A 4 × 4 Latin square design was used to randomly assign four male crossbred goats (Thai native × Anglo Nubian). The dietary treatments were as follows: ensiled oil palm frond with no additives (EOPF as the control), urea 5% (50 g/kg fresh matter) (E-UOPF 5%), calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) 5% (50 g/kg fresh matter) (E-CaOPF 5%), and combination of urea 2.5% (25 g/kg fresh matter) with Ca(OH)2 (25 g/kg fresh matter) (E-UCOPF 2.5%). The oil palm frond ensiled with different additives did not change the DM intake (p > 0.05). The total TMR intakes range from 69.39 to 77.09 g/kg BW0.75. The goats fed with E-UOPF 5.0% consumed significantly more CP than the other groups (p < 0.05). The E-UCOPF increased ME intake by 4.8%, compared with the control treatment (p < 0.05). E-UOPF 5% and E-UCOPF 2.5% significantly increased the CP digestibility by 19.7% and 17.1%, respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, E-CaOPF 5.0% and E-UCOPF 2.5% improved the NDF digestibility by about 10.9% and 9.90%, respectively (p < 0.05). The urea-containing oil palm frond (E-UOPF 5.0% and E-UCOPF 2.5%) had higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN) than the other groups (p < 0.05). The TVFA of goats fed E-UCOPF 2.5% was approximately 15.8% higher than that of goats provide EOPF (p < 0.05). The mean concentration of C3 increased by 7.90% and 11.61%, respectively, when E-CaOPF 5.0% and E-UCOPF 2.5% were provided instead of EOPF (p < 0.05). The total N intake and absorbed were highest (p < 0.05) when goats offered E-UOPF 5.0% (p < 0.05). The goats fed oil palm frond without additives had the lowest percentage of N-absorption/N intake (p < 0.05). This study clearly shows that the most suitable treatment is E-UCOPF 2.5%, which enhances DMD, nutrient digestibility, TVFAs, and nitrogen balance and has no negative effects on rumen microbes. This indicates that E-UCOPF 2.5% may be utilized as an alternate roughage source in TMR diets, accounting for at least 40% of the OPF. However, several factors still require consideration for urea-Ca(OH)2 treatments to be successful, including other concentrations of urea, moisture content, duration of pre-treatment, and the metabolizable protein system.

Recent insight and future techniques to enhance rumen fermentation in dairy goats

Recent development of novel techniques in systems biology have been used to improve and manipulate the rumen microbial ecosystem and gain a deeper understanding of its physiological and microbiological interactions and relationships. This provided a deeper insight and understanding of the relationship and interactions between the rumen microbiome and the host animal. New high-throughput techniques have revealed that the dominance of Proteobacteria in the neonatal gut might be derived from the maternal placenta through fetal swallowing of amniotic fluid in utero, which gradually decreases in the reticulum, omasum, and abomasum with increasing age after birth. Multi "omics" technologies have also enhanced rumen fermentation and production efficiency of dairy goats using dietary interventions through greater knowledge of the links between nutrition, metabolism, and the rumen microbiome and their effect in the environment. For example, supplementation of dietary lipid, such as linseed, affects rumen fermentation by favoring the accumulation of α-linolenic acid biohydrogenation with a high correlation to the relative abundance of Fibrobacteriaceae. This provides greater resolution of the interlinkages among nutritional strategies, rumen microbes, and metabolism of the host animal that can set the foundation for new advancements in ruminant nutrition using multi 'omics' technologies.